HealthDay (7/13, Houghteling) reports, “Some have proposed mindfulness training in schools as a therapeutic tool” to assist adolescents with anxiety and depression, but a 66-study systematic review indicates that “while teachers and the overall school climate may benefit from mindfulness, the effects are short-lived.” The findings were published online July 12 in the journal Evidence-Based Mental Health.

Related Links:

— “U.K. School Studies Find No Benefit of Mindfulness for Kids’ Mental Health “Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling, HealthDay, July 13, 2022

HealthDay (7/13, Mann) reports investigators examining “how anxiety was passed down among parents to same-sex kids among 398 kids from 221 mothers and 237 fathers” found that “anxious moms are more likely to have anxious daughters, and anxious dads are more likely to have anxious sons.”

MedPage Today (7/13, Kneisel) reports the study revealed that “the odds of a lifetime anxiety disorder diagnosis in offspring increased proportionately to the number of parents with anxiety disorders – specifically, anxiety occurred in about 24% of those whose parents were not affected, in 28% of children with one affected parent, and in 41% of those with both parents affected.” The findings were published online July 12 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Can Anxiety Disorders Pass From Parent to Child? “Denise Mann, HealthDay, July 13, 2022

Healio (7/8, VanDewater) reports, “In middle-aged women, PTSD was associated with a quicker decline in cognitive function, according to a prospective analysis of the Nurses’ Health Study II” that “assessed 12,270 women (mean age, 61.1 years; 95.9% non-Hispanic white) who had experienced trauma and were enrolled in a sub-study of the Nurses’ Health Study II focused on PTSD and had completed between one and five cognitive assessments from March 1, 2008, to July 30, 2019.” The findings were published online June 30 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Middle-aged women with PTSD experience accelerated cognitive decline “Kalie VanDewater, Healio, July 8, 2022

The New York Times (7/12, Blum) reports that beginning Saturday, anyone in the US “can text or call 988 to reach trained counselors who can help them cope with a mental health emergency, and direct them to additional resources for mental health and substance use treatment.” The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline’s “existing 1-800 number still works, but the service has gotten a makeover and will now be more able to address general mental health concerns and emotional distress, as well as suicide crises.” American Psychiatric Association Council on Healthcare Systems and Financing Chair Robert Trestman, MD, PhD, said, “Having an anonymous opportunity to speak to someone who knows what they’re talking about, who won’t be scared when you say, ‘I don’t know what to do, I’m thinking of hurting myself’ – this is an extraordinary option.”

Politico (7/12, Messerly, Owermohle) reports, “State health officials, unsure they have the money or staff to respond to an expected flood of calls to 988…are tempering expectations just days ahead of its launch.” Federal health officials “worry that most states are ill-prepared to meet the hotline’s long-term needs.”

Related Links:

— “What to Know About 988, the New Mental Health Crisis Hotline “Dani Blum, The New York Times, July 12, 2022

MedPage Today (7/12) reports, “While use of pharmacogenomic testing reduced antidepressant prescriptions with known” medication-gene “interactions in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), the effects on remission did not persist over time,” researchers concluded. The randomized trial revealed that “among over 1,900 patients, those in the pharmacogenomic-testing group were significantly less likely to be prescribed antidepressants with moderate (30% vs 54.6% in usual care) or substantial (10.7% vs 19.7%)” medication-gene interactions. The findings were published online July 12 in JAMA.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)